• Four successful decades in bancassurance
• 2.8 million customers in 14 countries, more than 4,600 financial consultants

Cologne, 16 September 2010 – The OVB Group, one of the leading European financial sales organisations, is this year looking back on four successful decades of company history. Founded in 1970, OVB quickly established itself as an expert partner for asset formation, retirement provision and real estate acquisitions. Today, it is represented in 14 European countries.

On 13 September 2010, the anniversary was celebrated as part of Europe Day in Cologne’s LANXESS arena with sales employees from all 14 national companies as well as numerous product partners from the whole of Europe.

In 2009, the OVB Group generated total sales commission of €201.6 million and had a portfolio of roughly 4 million contracts. Currently, 4,600 sales representatives are advising around 2.8 million customers in Europe. Even in difficult economic times, OVB’s financial consultants enjoy the trust of their customers. This is complemented by tailored products from more than 100 well-known partners. 458 members of staff are currently employed across the central offices of all 14 national companies, of which 161 work at the headquarters in Cologne.

“After forty successful years in bancassurance, our aim is to continue growing on a sustainable basis and expand the OVB brand as a synonym for expert advice in the field of pensions, insurance and asset formation for private customers in Europe”, says Wilfried Kempchen, Chief Executive Officer of the parent company OVB Holding AG.

OVB was founded by Otto Wittschier, Bert Schwarz and Bruno Tönnes in 1970 as a private company on Cologne’s Ursulaplatz. Its objective was to provide private households with customer-orientated advice on the subject of loans to buy one’s own home. The company’s name refers to its original title “Organisation zur Vermittlung von Bausparverträgen” (organisation for the brokering of home loan contracts). Over the years, the financial service provider extended its range of products – but the name OVB stuck. In 1981, OVB moved to the Heumarkt in Cologne, where the company’s headquarters remain to this day.

The founding of the OVB relief organisation “Menschen in Not e.V.” in 1983 shows that commercial success and social responsibility are a firm part of OVB’s corporate culture: employees and managers get involved by voluntarily giving up smaller amounts of commission which are then donated to charity. Over time, this practice, which was initially limited to the Cologne region, developed into a growing model of success. To date, more than €3.5 million has been donated to a variety of relief projects within and outside Germany.

In the 1990s, OVB began to take its business model to other European countries. OVB Österreich was founded in 1991 as the first foreign subsidiary and was followed by companies in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in 1992 and subsidiaries in Greece and Slovakia in 1993. Over the following years, organic growth allowed the company to tap into further foreign markets. “The OVB brand is now firmly established in Europe. For us, foreign business is a central growth driver. We see opportunities for increased penetration in all regional markets. In terms of private pensions, there is a significant need for improvement in the Eastern European countries in particular”, reports Kempchen.

In 2004, the current Group structure was created in the form of OVB Holding AG, which functions as the parent company for all national companies and coordinates the business as a whole. In July 2006, OVB was successfully floated on the stock exchange, further strengthening the profile of the OVB brand throughout Europe. CEO Wilfried Kempchen is convinced: “Its strength in international sales makes OVB is an attractive partner for banks, asset management companies and home saving associations. Our business is the future. Pensions, insurance and asset formation ensure that even today, we look to the future with optimism”.

About the OVB Group
OVB Group, with its holding company headquartered in Cologne, is one of the leading European financial sales organisations. Since the formation of OVB Vermögensberatung AG in Germany in 1970, customer-oriented consulting for private households in the areas of insurance coverage, asset building and appreciation, pension provision and real estate acquisition have formed the focus of OVB’s business activities. Currently OVB advises some 2.8 million customers across Europe and works together with more than 100 renowned product partners. OVB is presently active in 14 countries, with some 4,600 full-time financial consultants working for the Group. In 2009, OVB Holding AG and its subsidiaries generated total sales commission of €201.6 million and EBIT of €9.6 million. OVB Holding AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0006286560) since July 2006.